Stranger
by queenofanimeandstuff
Summary: Amelia hadn't ever met the man in person, but he was constantly on her mind. She saw him everywhere she went; in the grocery store, outside in the parking lot, while she was walking home, at the gas station, everywhere. She couldn't stop thinking about him, and it was driving her crazy. Yet he never seemed to notice her. Fem!USxUK Human AU.
1. Chapter 1

Every few days for the last month she had seen him. She didn't know him, and before that month she was positive she'd never seen him before. Most people wouldn't have taken any notice in the new man, but for some reason she did.

So far she'd seen him at the store, in the park, walking home from work, at the local restaurant, in the internet café, outside her apartment building, pretty much everywhere. She was fairly sure he had never taken notice of her though. Why would he? He probably just moved here, he didn't know her, didn't go to work with her, didn't live across the hall from her, really didn't have any connection to her whatsoever. To him she might as well not exist. So why was he always on her mind?

When she went into public she would swivel her head around every so often, looking to see if he was near. When she had any time to herself she found her thoughts straying toward the image of his blond hair and bushy eyebrows. She would picture the way he held himself confidently, almost arrogantly, but not quite. He was a mystery to her, and she really wanted to meet him so she could figure him out. Each day when she got home, she swore to herself she would talk to him the next time she saw him. And yet, every time she did see him, her courage slipped away and the words caught in her throat.

That morning she had finally accepted that she would probably never meet the man, or at least have the courage to start a conversation with him. She might as well forget him. He wasn't anything special to her, so it wouldn't matter anyway.

_Just pretend you never saw him in the first place. Yeah, like that'll ever work. Why the heck can't I just forget about him?! _Her thoughts were interrupted when her coworker, Matthew, tapped on her shoulder. "Amelia, your customers at table five are still waiting for their order. They're getting a bit impatient." Amelia finally jolted back into reality. "Oh, sorry Mattie, I'll take care of it right away." She picked up her tray and hurried out of the kitchen, delivering the order as fast as she could and apologizing to the customers for the wait. She was a waitress at the only 50's style diner in town. She had been working there for almost three years now, and she hadn't once missed an order. She was very focused when she wanted to be. At least, until the mysterious man showed up. He had thrown off her ability to function correctly at work.

_Come on, focus on your work. You don't want to get fired, do you?_ She thought as she walked to the next table to get another order. _Besides, what would you even do if you did meet him for real? What if he's a total jerk?_ She was right. Even if she did start a conversation with him, he probably wouldn't like her at all. She was rather loud when she spoke, and often said unintentionally rude things. Most people didn't like her, and only spoke to her because they had to. Oh well, maybe it would just be better if they never met.

She had just finished that thought when she looked up from her notepad to take the newest customer's order, and was met with emerald green eyes. She froze where she was, not believing what she was seeing. The man was sitting at the table before her, looking up at her. The very man that had been on her mind all month, who had invaded all of her thoughts, and who was now waiting for her to take his order. She realized that his lips were moving, and he was saying something to her. "Excuse me miss, are you even listening?" She wanted to say something, but all that came out of her mouth was, "Huh?" He looked slightly annoyed, but said, "I said, do you have any Earl Grey tea?" His voice had a heavy British accent, and was tinted with annoyance. Amelia heard herself instinctively respond, "I'm afraid we don't have that sir. I can get you an iced tea or coffee." He grumbled before asking for a coffee and she felt her feet move toward the kitchen, but her eyes remained locked on the man.

She only snapped out of her trance when the kitchen door closed behind her and the man was blocked from her line of sight. She let out a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding, and shook her head. She tried to pretend that he was just any other customer, and not someone that she'd been thinking of non-stop for the past month, and filled a mug with coffee. As she brought it out to him, she glanced at the clock. It was 5:58. Two minutes before her shift ended. Maybe she could get away with staying for a few extra minutes so she could work up the courage to talk to him. Then again, she had worked late every day for the past week, and her boss would get suspicious if she stayed after her shift again today. And she had promised Francine that she would meet up with her after work to go shopping. It wasn't a good idea to stay late today. She would just have to live knowing that she never had the guts to talk to him.

She took another deep breath before approaching the table again. She knew her hand was shaking when she set the mug down, and hoped the man didn't notice. "Can I get anything else for you, sir?" He glanced at the menu, but said, "Actually, I'm in a bit of a hurry today. Could you bring me my bill?" She nodded and hurried to the register to print the bill before bringing it back to the table. "Thank you, miss." He signed the bill, took a few big gulps of coffee, laid a handful of cash on the table, and was out the door. She stared after him and suddenly had the urge to follow him. She dropped the tray that was tucked under arm and ran after him.

As soon as she was outside the diner, she saw him get into a small car and start the engine. She ran to the driver's side window and tapped on the glass. He seemed a bit startled, but rolled down the window to see what she wanted. "Can I help you? Oh, did I under pay for the coffee? I'm quite sorry; I was in a bit of a rush. Here, just wait a second." He began to pull his wallet out of his pocket, but Amelia stopped him. "No, no. You didn't under pay, I just…" She just what? She couldn't come up with a logical reason for her behavior. Why had she run after the man in the first place?

"I uh… I just, umm… my name is Amelia." The man looked surprised that she had only stopped him to say her name. He said, "It's nice to meet you, I suppose. My name is Arthur. So, if you don't mind, I'm sort of in a hurry. I have someone waiting on me." She knew it was rude to keep him there any longer, but she couldn't stop just staring at the man. She heard a familiar voice calling to her across the parking lot. "Amelia! You forgot to take the bill off of one of the tables, and you're still wearing your apron!" Matthew looked slightly distressed that Amelia had taken off so quickly, and confused as to why she was standing outside some random person's car. She face-palmed and looked at Arthur before saying, "It was nice meeting you Arthur. Please come back tomorrow."

She ran back into the diner and apologized to Matthew. "Sorry Mattie, he just under paid for his coffee," she hated lying, but she didn't want to tell Matthew that she had followed the man- Arthur -for no apparent reason. As soon as her shift was officially over she went back out to the parking lot to meet up with Francine. The French woman enveloped her in a soft hug and said, "Amy, darling, it's been too long since we went shopping together. Where would you like to go?" Amelia was suddenly hit with a feeling of nausea. She felt herself swaying back and forth just a tiny bit, and her face flushed with heat. Her stomach started twisting in knots. She was definitely not feeling right. "Oh, I really don't feel well right now Francine. I'm so sorry but I'm gonna have to cancel. But we can go tomorrow." Francine looked a little disappointed but agreed. "You do look rather pale. Perhaps you will feel better if you get a good night sleep. But there are no excuses tomorrow!" Amelia nodded and began the short walk to her apartment, waving to Francine as she walked away.

After she got home she decided to take a longshower. It was refreshing, and she did feel a bit better afterward. When she was done she sat on the couch in her pajamas and her cat, Toni, jumped up with her. "Hey Toni, you'll never believe what happened today." Toni curled up next to her and purred. "You remember that guy I told you about, the one I keep seeing everywhere? Well today he came into the diner and I found out his name is Arthur. He was pretty cool, even though I only talked to him for a couple seconds. I hope he comes back tomorrow." She yawned heavily and looked at the clock. It was only 7:24. "It's kinda early to go to bed, huh? Oh well, I'm pretty tired. 'Night Toni." She got up and went into her bedroom for a good night sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**(A/N) Hello! Just so y'all know, this story probably won't go very far. I just started writing as a spur of the moment thing, and I don't have anything planned for it. Like, at all. However, if anyone has suggestions for how the story should go, I'd like to hear them. Leave a review or send me a private message if you have any ideas. This is basically open to anything. (Except M rated material. That's not how I role.)**

**Disclaimer: This goes for the entire story. I don't own anything, and parts of the plot may be other peoples' ideas. (I'll give you credit if you help me out!)**

Amelia couldn't sleep all night. Every time she almost dozed off, her mind woke her right back up. Now that she had finally met the man, she didn't know what to think of him. He seemed nice, if a little frantic. But he probably only seemed like that because he was in a rush. She was sure that if they'd met in different circumstances, he would be very gentlemanly. At least, she hoped so. Maybe he would come back to the diner, and sit in the same spot just so she could wait on him. Or possibly she would come face-to-face with him somewhere else. Or, just as likely, they'd never meet again.

That last thought made Amelia feel sick. Never see Arthur again? That would be terrible! For what reason, she couldn't comprehend. Why was she so… interested? Intrigued? Captivated? Attracted? Wait, what? Was she attracted to Arthur? Amelia had no idea if this was attraction. She'd never felt particularly interested in any one person before. She'd had a tiny crush on one boy named Ivan from when she was little, but it didn't last long because she found out he was really creepy. Other than that, she hadn't even considered attraction.

Amelia couldn't stand it anymore. She hated lying awake at night, so she decided to go for a jog. Yeah, a nice little run would clear her mind. She put on her sweatpants and a t-shirt, and she was out the door. Occasionally she would go out running late at night if she couldn't sleep. She often had minor insomnia if she had to make a big decision, or if she had an important test in school coming up. She would just go half a mile to the park, jog around the perimeter for a mile, and come back home.

She was almost all the way around the park, and she had stopped for a rest. That's when she saw a figure sitting on a bench not too far away. As often as she went running, she knew there weren't any homeless people around. Most people would be asleep at this hour. The park was usually empty at night, with only a few late-night runners. This was probably someone who came out to clear their head, just like her. She felt the urge to go sit next to the person on the bench. They were most likely cold from sitting in one spot for so long, and maybe they were hoping for somebody to sit with them. Actually, Amelia knew that was far-fetched, but she wanted to sit with them anyway.

The closer she got, the more she could make out about the person. They were hunched over, and had only a thin jacket, from the looks of it. Definitely male, seeming to be about 20 to 25 years old, possibly a bit older. But no matter how close she got to him, he refused to look up at her. Finally she was sitting beside him on the bench, but still no response. It was dark, and the man had a hood on, so she couldn't tell who he was. She hesitantly spoke, "Hi there, what brings you here at this hour?"

As the stranger looked at her, she identified him as none other than Arthur, the man who had been on her mind for so long. She gave a small gasp, and hoped he wouldn't notice. He answered her, "I could ask the same of you. I was looking for some peace and quiet." She felt bad for approaching him when he clearly wanted to be alone, but her guilt was forgotten when it appeared that he recognized her. "Ah, yes, you're the girl from earlier. Amelia, right? I apologize for leaving in such a hurry." She smiled, "Oh, it's no trouble. I'm sure you had a good reason. So, you came for peace and quiet?" He sighed, "Yes, I live with my older brothers, and they can be quite rambunctious at times. What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" She looked down, "I don't really know, actually. I guess I wanted to clear my head, but it's not working out that way." And it really wasn't. Amelia was just as confused as before, and having Arthur right next to her wasn't helping at all.

"Maybe I should go. I have work in the morning." As Amelia got up to leave, Arthur said, "No, no, please stay for a while. I quite enjoy the civilized company. In my life it's hard to come by. If you don't mind my asking, what were you trying to clear your head of?" Amelia sighed and sat back down, "I'm sure you wouldn't get it. It's really not that big of a deal. It shouldn't be bothering me as much as it is." She decided to tell him, but not the whole story. "There's this person that I've been seeing around. He's kind of mysterious, and really interesting. He showed up out of nowhere, and I've lived here for so long it kind of caught my attention. I finally got to meet him, and I thought after I did all my questions about him would be answered, but now I'm more confused than ever. We only talked for a little bit, and I don't know what to think about him."

Arthur seemed rather intrigued by this. "Well, something similar has happened to me recently. You see, I just moved here and I've already got a job and all. I've met some people, made some friends, and everything is going fine. Then I start seeing this girl everywhere. She doesn't seem to notice me, but there's something about her that intrigues me. I can't put my finger on it, but she's different somehow. Anyway, this man you were talking about, what was he like?" He seemed genuinely interested, so she just had to tell him. But she would be careful not to give too many details, just in case he was on to her.

"Well, I only said a few words to him, and he seemed a little annoyed with me at first, but he warmed up a little bit after that. He seemed nice, but nothing out of the ordinary stood out. I just can't figure out why he seems so interesting." Amelia found herself suppressing a yawn, and realized that the sun was just barely peaking out over the horizon. She couldn't stay much longer. "Look, the sun is coming up. I guess I should be going soon." He nodded and stood up before offering a hand to her. She took it and pulled herself up with it. "Do you live far from here?" he asked. She pointed in the general direction of her apartment building, "I'm about a half of a mile that way. It's not far."

Arthur seemed to hesitate for just a moment before he said, "I live in the same general area. Shall we walk together?" Amelia smiled and nodded before saying, "Race you there!" and taking off. She ran a little slower than usual, so Arthur could catch up to her. Soon enough he did, but he didn't slow down to run with her. He passed right in front of her, and got quite the lead. She found herself actually having to give some effort to catch up with him, but when she did, she didn't pass him. They ran top speed, side by side, with the sun barely bright enough to let them see well enough, until they had gotten all the way to the front door of Amelia's apartment building.

They were both gasping for breath after having run so fast for so long. When she was able to speak, Amelia said, "That was super fun. Most people can't keep up with me that well." She looked up grinning, and Arthur took a few more deep breaths before responding, "Well, I'm just full of surprises. That was rather enjoyable." He stood up completely straight, with his breathing mostly back to normal. "I'll be stopping by the diner again this afternoon at the same time as yesterday. Will you be working then?" She nodded, "Yup. I'm there every day at that time." They smiled at each other and Arthur spoke. "Well, I've got to be going now. It was nice talking with you. I'll see you tomorrow." She waved as he walked off, then went inside and up to her apartment. She collapsed on her bed, and finally, finally, fell into a deep sleep.

**(A/N) Why do I always end the chapter with Amelia falling asleep? I dunno. It's just the easiest way to end it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and feel free to ask questions or leave comments. I would generally allow flames, but because this isn't a serious story that I'll be spending tons of time on, please don't be judgmental of it. **** Have a loverly day everyone!**


	3. Chapter 3

**(A/N) OMG you guys are awesome! I didn't expect any attention for this story, but you all proved me wrong! And I'm still hoping some magical person will come along and provide a good idea for how to continue. But until then it'll be a lot of filler chapters. Feel free to share your ideas! **

Amelia was in a daze all day. Thoughts of Arthur filled her mind. His emerald eyes, polite essence, genuine smile. She couldn't get her mind to focus on anything else. Matthew was oblivious to her attitude for most of the day, and honestly didn't mind when she spaced out. It was typical Amelia behavior, and he couldn't blame her.

Amelia remembered that Arthur had promised to come back that day, and she couldn't wait to see him. It's not like she was in love with him, but she thought they could definitely be friends. So of course she was totally excited when 6:00 rolled around and Arthur showed up. Since it was the end of her shift she could sit with him for a while. She had a feeling that she was forgetting something, but if she figured if it was really that important she would've remembered. Oh well, she'd remember it later.

When she came out of the staff room after her shift, she looked around for where he was sitting. He was in the same booth as the day before, and was currently ordering from another waiter. When he saw her he waved to her, and she went to sit with him. "Hey Arthur! What's up?" She grinned at him. He smiled back, "Oh, nothing really. How are you today?" She responded, "I'm great! Since my shift just ended, I can stay for a while." He seemed to like that idea, "Good, I enjoyed speaking with you last night. Or early this morning, if you want to be specific." She smiled again. "Yeah, last night was fun!" she practically yelled. One of the other waitresses looked over at the table and Arthur blushed lightly. It was kind of cute, in Amelia's opinion.

Just then, Amelia saw the door open and Francine walk in. Oh! That's what she'd forgotten! She had promised to go shopping with Francine after work. She was about to get up and say goodbye to Arthur, but Francine was already at the table. She had a look of great confusion on her face when she said, "Amelia. Arthur. I didn't know you two knew each other. This is quite the surprise. Actually, I wasn't really aware you were in town, Arthur." Francine looked suspiciously at Arthur, as if waiting for him to disappear in a puff of smoke. It was Amelia's turn to be confused now, "Wait, you know Arthur?" Arthur looked very uncomfortable, "Yes, we've met before. It's … ahem… nice to see you again, Francine." Francine just continued to stare at him. Even Amelia could sense the intensity of the situation. Whatever Arthur and Francine's relationship was, it definitely wasn't good. This could get really awkward really fast if Amelia didn't do something. "Well Arthur, Francine and I were planning to go shopping this afternoon. We'll be going now. It was nice talking with you! Bye bye!" She got up and grabbed Francine's arm, pulling her out of the restaurant.

When they got outside, an awkward silence fell upon them. Francine spoke first, "So when did you meet him?" She definitely looked unhappy about the whole situation. Amelia tried to think of a good way to answer that. "I guess just yesterday. But we also met in the park last night. Why? How do you know him?" Amelia was genuinely confused. She thought that Arthur had just moved here very recently. Francine had been there for three years, and as far as Amelia knew Arthur hadn't come to visit her in that time. So they must've known each other before. But how? Francine responded after a long pause. "We used to be lovers. A long time ago, before I moved here. I was travelling in Britain when I met him. He was very charming, but after really getting to know him over several months, I realized how terrible he is. Mind my words, Amelia, that man is no good. You would be wise to keep your distance."

Uh-oh. Ex-lovers? That wasn't good for Amelia. How was she supposed to be friends with Arthur, when Francine so clearly hated him? But Arthur honestly seemed like a nice guy. Maybe Francine was mistaken, and maybe he had changed. He couldn't be that bad, could he? But then again, Francine seemed to really know what she was talking about. Sure, Arthur seemed charming, but if Francine hated him, there must be a good reason. Francine disliked a lot of people, but had never specifically told Amelia that she should stay away from them, so this must've been a pretty big deal. But Amelia still couldn't bring herself to believe that Arthur was a bad guy. She would just have to find out on her own time. Meanwhile, she and Francine had some shopping to do.

They hit all of their favorite stores. They spent a little while in the mall, going from store to store. Francine took Amelia to some of the more high-end places, but Amelia convinced Francine to buy a few more casual garments. In the end they made a compromise. Amelia picked one casual outfit for Francine, and Francine chose one more formal outfit for Amelia in turn. Then they were off to Francine's favorite bookstore. Amelia had never been big on books, but she did enjoy browsing the comics section. A part of her knew she was too old for comics, but a larger part of her was convinced that she would never really grow out of them. Super heroes were just too cool. Francine, on the other hand, enjoyed dramatic romance novels (which made Amelia want to puke.) After the books (and comics) had been purchased, they were off to the coffee shop. They spent time chatting about this and that, and of course Francine flirted with the man at the front counter. When 9:00 rolled around, they were both tired and ready to go home. So they bid each other farewell, and headed their separate ways.

Amelia sat on the couch pondering what had happened earlier that day. It had all happened so fast. She was visiting with Arthur one second, and the next Francine was telling her he was bad news. She didn't really know what to think. She decided to go for a run to clear her head. That always helped. Well, it would help as long as she didn't run into Arthur again. That would just confuse her even more. Hopefully she could just run with no interruptions. Alas, she had no such luck. As she was running, she heard a car pull up next to her, and recognized it as Arthur's. He rolled down the window and said, "Amelia, what did Francine tell you about me? I swear whatever it is she made it sound much worse than reality." Amelia stopped her running and bent down to Arthur's car window. She said, "She didn't say anything in specific, but I was warned to stay away. You know, we could just skip this whole dramatic scene and you could tell me what happened between you two. Francine was very vague." Arthur sighed, "Honestly, it's a very long story. Why don't you just come with me for a little while, and we can discuss this somewhere else."

She was a little bit hesitant to get in the car with him. It was late at night and she didn't know him very well. Then again, what could go wrong? If all else failed, Amelia was very good at defending herself. She could easily take down a man in a fight. So she walked to the other side of the car and got into the passenger's seat. Arthur began to talk as he drove. "Amelia, Francine and I haven't seen each other in three years. I don't know what her opinion on me is at this point, but I can tell she's still angry about what happened." Amelia was really tired of Francine and Arthur's vagueness, so she asked, "And what exactly did happen between you guys?" Arthur kept his eyes on the road the whole time, "I'm sure she's told you that we dated for a while. Well, it didn't end well. In the few months we were together, wanted me to spend more and more time with her, until I couldn't get a moment alone outside of work. So finally I got fed up and one night I snapped. It ended in a huge yelling match, and she stomped out, and only came back the next morning to get her things. After that, I never saw her again. Well, until today, of course."

Amelia was sad to hear that they had both had to go through a bad relationship. It would also be pretty hard to be friends with both Arthur and Francine, since they seemed to strongly dislike each other. She sighed, and it was silent for a while before she spoke again. "That sucks. It really does. But honestly, you two need to get over it. You know that you'll never be in a relationship again, and you don't see each other on a daily basis, so why go to the effort of hating each other?" Arthur quickly glanced at Amelia, then spoke, "Amelia, have you ever been in an intimate relationship with anybody?" She sheepishly shook her head, a little embarrassed about never having a boyfriend. Arthur nodded, "Well, I've been in quite a few relationships. And the aftermath is almost never good. While I'm willing to let the past go, for the sake of my own sanity, I'm not sure that Francine would have the same opinion. You know her. Once she's decided she dislikes somebody, there's no way you can change her mind." Amelia nodded.

Both of them were very quiet until Arthur stopped the car in a little parking lot outside of an apartment building. Only then did Amelia respond. "So what am I supposed to do? Do you expect me to just ignore you from now on, just 'cuz you and Francine can't get over your petty fight?" Arthur sighed again, "Amelia, that's not what I mean. I just… ugh… I don't know! If I had known Francine lived here I wouldn't have come in the first place! Maybe you_ should_ ignore me! It's not like we actually know each other. You've known her longer, and if this is going to confuse your life, you might as well pretend I don't exist!" Oh, and this angered Amelia. She couldn't completely explain it, but the fact that Arthur wanted her to pretend he didn't exist bothered her beyond what she thought was possible. She was furious, "You mean forget you?! What, you don't think I've already _tried _that?! I tried to forget about you for a whole month, and I just couldn't get you out of my head! I thought that _maybe _after I met you I could get to know you, and this whole thing would just stop bothering me, but you know what?! Now it's worse! I'm so confused with all of it! You and Francine and my feelings and everyone else's problems, I hate it! And now you have the gumption to think you can make me just _forget_ you?! AAAAGGGHHH!"

She got out of the car and began running. She went as fast as her legs could take her, and then some. She didn't know where she was going, but the idea of being stuck in the car with Arthur any longer was unbearable. She just had to get away.

**(A/N) AAAANNNDD that ending was total crap. Seriously, I don't even know what I'm doing with this. Somebody please help me with this ASAP. If you have any ideas, PLEASE TELL ME! I'm so lost. This will most likely be the last chapter I post until I get something. I don't say that to be a jerk, I say it because I don't know where I'm going with this. Honestly, nothing planned at all. So even if you think your idea is stupid, tell me and I will listen. Please. I'm desperate. **


	4. Chapter 4

**(A/N) So I lied to you. That wasn't the last chapter I would post. I felt bad leaving it as it was, and help wasn't coming, so I real quick wrote this up. Also, to clarify, Amelia is around 20-ish and Arthur is around 23-25. I haven't decided their ages specifically. Anyway, enjoy!**

She felt the cool air of the night and wished she'd thought to take a jacket. By the time she had calmed down enough to stop running, she was freezing cold in a part of town she wasn't very familiar with. Of course, she'd lived in this town her entire life, so she at least had a general idea of how to get back to her apartment. But she really didn't want to have to walk the whole way. She figured as far as Arthur had driven and as long as she had been running she was around six miles from home, give or take. _Well Amelia, you got yourself into this mess, and you have to get yourself out of it._ So she began walking.

By the time she completely recognized her surroundings there were dark clouds in the sky, blocking out the moonlight completely. Another four miles to go. It was slow going, and by now she was shivering violently. She made a metal note to always wear a jacket when she went running in winter. She could barely feel her hands, and she had begun to sneeze. She had left her phone in her room because it still wasn't charged and she didn't have any pockets, so she couldn't call anyone. The only one who would come get her anyway was Francine, and Amelia really wasn't in the mood to explain to her why she was out here in the first place.

Tiny snowflakes started falling to the ground, and Amelia was cursing herself for ending up in this place. If only she had stayed in the nice warm car and talked with Arthur, or better yet not have left the apartment in the first place. Then she wouldn't be walking around in the freaking snow in the middle of the night. She could be in bed, asleep, or talking it out with Arthur, and maybe she would've gotten him to agree to make up with Francine. But no, she just _had _to go out in the first place. Ugh. She hated this entire situation.

With two and a half miles to go she was fairly sure she had frostbite on her hands, and she had stopped shivering, which was apparently one of the symptoms of hypothermia. By the time she was a mile and a half away she was getting very drowsy, and just wanted to sit down on a bench and give up for the night. Instead she kept on walking until she was all the way home. Her feet were sore and the skin on her arms and face was numb. She changed into a long-sleeved shirt and a hoodie before going to bed. And this time, she slept for quite a while.

When Amelia woke up she immediately felt way too hot. She threw the covers to the side and pulled the hoodie off. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked at the clock on the bedside table. Only then did she realize that she was totally late for class. She jumped out of bed and onto her feet, only to find herself on the floor, her muscles aching and her legs collapsed under her. She groaned and tried to stand back up. Every part of her body was screaming for her to just stay on the floor and not move. She had just managed to get all the way up again when she began coughing. It felt like there was something stuck in her lungs violently pushing to get out. She sat back down on her bed and tried to take deep breaths, but she couldn't stop coughing. Her head was pounding and her throat was sore. She felt like crap.

She lay in bed for a while and waited for her coughing to stop before picking up her cell phone. First she called her boss and told him she was sick and couldn't work. She promised she would be back tomorrow, and she would work a few extra hours, maybe even cover a night shift. Next she called Francine. "Hey, I'm sick. You know stuff about medicine and health and stuff, right?" She heard Francine sigh, "I dated a doctor once, yes. I'm not sure if I'll be much help, though." Amelia replied, "Well, I've got a headache, sore throat, coughing, aching muscles, maybe a fever. What do you think?" Francine hummed and responded after a short pause, "Well, I don't know. It sounds like you have some flu symptoms, so did you get a vaccine?"

Amelia thought back to early autumn. Did she get vaccinated? "Uh, yeah, I'm pretty sure I did. Plus I don't know anyone who has it right now. There's no way it's the flu." Francine was at a loss, "Then I don't know. You really don't sound so good. I'm not doing anything today, so how about I come over and check on you?" Amelia agreed, so that Francine could keep her company while she was cooped up in her apartment.

After the call ended, Amelia sat up in bed and looked out her window, which had a wonderful view of the parking lot. She scanned through the rows of cars just so she would have something to do, just when she saw a car pulling into the parking lot. She immediately realized that it was Arthur's and began to panic. What was he doing here? This was bad, really, really bad. If Francine showed up and saw Arthur, she would flip out. This couldn't go well for anyone. However, there was nothing she could do to stop it, because she could barely move. Nonetheless, she dragged herself back to her feet and went to the buzzer when her doorman, Jim, called.

"Hey 'melia, I got this guy down here who says ya know 'im. He really wants to talk to ya." Amelia took a deep breath. "Tell him now really isn't a good time. He can come back later or something." She heard Jim huff and say, "Will do. But he says it's urgent." Amelia shook her head, knowing that those on the other end of the conversation couldn't see her. "Really, not now. You gotta make him leave. Please." What she got in response was a "Yeah, yeah, he's leavin'."

Amelia sighed and trudged back to her room to look out the window. Sure enough, she saw Arthur get back into his car, shake his head, and pull out of the lot. Not a second too soon, because Francine pulled in right after. Clearly Jim recognized Francine, because he didn't call to confirm that he should let her up. Francine knocked on the door, and Amelia slowly made her way to open it. She was immediately smothered by Francine giving her a bear hug. She stayed silent when Francine pulled away from her and held her a shoulder length, carefully examining her. She definitely looked worried. "Oh, you poor thing, you're burning up!"

Amelia found herself lying on the couch with a thermometer in her mouth, with Francine franticly trying to figure out what was wrong with her. "Were you exposed to any viruses that you know of?" Amelia shook her head. "Have you been sick like this recently?" She repeated the head shaking. "Do you have some internal disease you've been hiding?" A big shake of the head for that one. "Were you in the cold too long?" Amelia thought about it and nodded. Francine gave her a skeptical look and said, "When where you in the cold? After we split up last night?" Amelia nodded again. She didn't want to get into detail, but she really didn't have a reason for having to walk six miles at night in the cold. Well, of course she had a reason, but she wanted to avoid talking about Arthur in front of Francine.

She took the thermometer out of her mouth and handed it to Francine, who sighed, "101. It's not serious. So why were you in the cold?" Amelia gulped and tried to think up an answer, "I...uh…I was…just going for a run. Yeah, just running. You know me; I love to jog around at night. Ha. Ha. Yeah." And of course, Francine saw right through the lie. "Amy, you're a terrible liar, you know that right? Tell me the truth." Amelia looked down at her lap and began, "Well, it started out as just running. Honestly. But something happened and I had to run farther than I thought. And I forgot to bring a jacket." She looked back up at Francine and begged that she wouldn't pry into it anymore. She had no such luck. Francine said, "Amelia, I want the whole truth. Spit it out."

Amelia looked back down and nodded. "Okay, but you have to promise not to freak out. I was with Arthur." She could physically see Francine's mood turn dark, but she continued. "We were driving around talking, and we kinda got into a fight, so I ran away. But I was a long way from here, and as I said I had no jacket. So I must've gotten sick from being out too long." Just then there was a knock on the door. Francine stood up and answered it, and imagine the horror Amelia felt when she saw Arthur standing outside her door. He glanced between Francine and Amelia, and Francine glanced between Arthur and Amelia, and Amelia knew she was in for one hectic conversation.

**(A/N) So I suppose I'm going to try to continue this on my own. Don't expect new chapters very often though, because this isn't my main priority. I just don't want it to die.**


	5. Chapter 5

**(A/N) Hello! It's me again. Enjoy!**

Amelia stayed quiet for a long time before saying, "Uh, hi Arthur. How did you get up here?" He coughed awkwardly and said, "Your doorman let me up. I told him it was an emergency." Francine chose that moment to finally speak up, "Arthur, get out. You're not welcome here." If looks could kill, Arthur would be very dead. However, he still felt the need to push farther, "How would you know? This isn't your apartment. If Amelia doesn't want me here, let her tell me that." He glared harshly at Francine before turning to face Amelia. "Well Amelia, would you prefer I leave? I still have something we need to discuss."

Amelia couldn't believe this. First, he tried to talk it out with her, then he said she should just forget him, and now he wanted to discuss something? She barely even knew the guy! He had no right to show up at her house after he had caused her to walk six miles in the cold! She was furious. "Arthur, I think you need to leave." She could see the shock on his face but she only glared at him. He looked hurt, "Amelia, you know I'm sorry. What I said yesterday, I didn't mean it. You have to understand that." No way! He shouldn't get to beg for her forgiveness, he knew nothing about her! She shakily stood up and slowly ground out, "Arthur, I really think you should go. Just get out." He huffed and stormed away, with Francine slamming the door behind him.

Amelia took a deep breath and sat back down on the couch. Francine was next to her in the blink of an eye, trying to gauge Amelia's overall response to the situation. Amelia herself didn't even know. She had gotten way too involved in whatever this was. This kind of thing was not rare with her. She would allow herself to be dragged in to somebody else's problems, and it would become a big confused mess. But not this time. She was going to stay friends with Francine, and in order to do that she would have to give up Arthur. No big deal, right? She hadn't known him for long, and everything had been disastrous since they first met. She would just ignore him. Easier said than done, but she could pull it off.

Meanwhile, she still needed to recover from whatever illness she had, and it felt like a wonderful time for a nap. So Amelia yawned loudly and stretched her arms above her head. This served as a signal for Francine to make way for the sleepy woman. Francine sat in the chair across from Amelia and thought long and hard about how she would solve this. She supposed it was time to pay an old friend a visit.

Arthur wasn't expecting a particularly wonderful welcome, but he at least hoped Amelia would hear him out. Then again, he really didn't know anything about her. Well, he knew the bare minimum, but that apparently wasn't enough. He did pull a pretty bad move, demanding to be let in to her apartment. No woman would appreciate that. He probably also shouldn't have mouthed off to Francine, considering that she and Amelia were friends. And it really could've all been avoided if he had run after Amelia in time. After he thought it over, he realized he'd really messed up. He drove back home, avoided his brothers to get back to his room, and sat on his bed, pondering the best move. His phone buzzed, signaling a text. He looked at the sender info, and even though he had deleted the contact long ago, he could still recognize the number. Francine.

**(A/N) I know, this chapter is incredibly short. And late. And bad. I honestly have no excuse. Sorry.**


End file.
